ABSTRACTS FOR POSTER PRESENTATIONS
(Ordered by Poster Number)
Location: Special Dining Rooms A & B in the University Room
8:15 – 9:45 a.m.
Faculty mentor: Dr.
School:
Title: A Study of Microscopic Aquatic Animals in Plants: How to Enhance Feeding Activity of Rotifers
Microscopic animals are quite abundant in mosses and liverworts, but little is known about the relationship between these tiny animals and tiny plants. To try to understand these relationships better, we have been investigating one particular microscopic animal, rotifers, that live within lobular-shaped leaves of the liverwort Frullania eboracensis. Rotifers are aquatic organisms and require the plant to be wetted in order to be active. They are difficult to study unless they are feeding. Amongst rotifer biologists, it is generally believed that adding fish food will encourage rotifers to feed. We have designed an experiment to more rigorously test than previous studies whether fish food, rotifer food, or other additives can be used to encourage the animals to feed.
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Faculty mentor: Dr.
School:
Title: Attractiveness of Microscopic Plants to Single-Celled Ciliate Animals
Recent studies have demonstrated that at least two tiny plant species consume ciliates, single-celled microscopic organisms. This phenomenon is called zoophagy. The first zoophagous liverwort species has lobular shaped leaves with a trapping lid. Curiously, researchers have shown that the trapping liverwort is no more attractive to ciliates than species in the liverwort genus, Frullania which has lobules but does not have a lid. We are currently investigating the attractiveness of Frullania eboracensis to ciliates in order to better understand plant-animal relationships in this species.
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Faculty mentors: Dr. Harvey Pines and Dr. Judith Larkin
School:
Title: What do the Pope and Britney Spears Have in Common?
Recent studies about how people think focus on the concepts that they use. Research has shown that when people use concepts such as “birds” and “furniture,” the concepts have a prototypical structure (Rosch, 1978). Celebrities are significant in today’s culture, and they have a special influence in the lives of youth. Therefore, I am studying the way that my peers view such people. I am testing the hypothesis that the concept of “celebrity” has a prototypical structure similar to categories such as “birds,” etc. To study society’s concept of celebrities, we asked students in three introductory psychology classes to complete a survey form. On this form, students were asked to record the first ten celebrities that came to mind. For each person mentioned, students indicated whether the celebrity is known locally, nationally, or internationally. In addition, they were asked to place the celebrities into categories based on their prospective industries. Finally, the students considered how good of an example of a celebrity each individual was, using a numerical rating system.
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Faculty mentor: Dr. Jalal Baghdadchi
School:
Title: Construction of a Hybrid-Renewable Energy Efficient Home Water Heating Unit
The purpose of this project is to build a new type of water heater that partially runs on renewable sources of energy, as well as electronically monitors when hot water is and not being used daily. The proposed unit heats the water according to usage, thus minimizing the heat loss from unused hot water sitting in a tank. The design of the prototype of the hybrid water heater is based on retrofitting a 40 gallon, gas water heater and a 40 gallon, electric water heater. These water tanks are then plumed in series, with the electric tank collecting water heated by the sun and acting as a preheater for the main tank, which uses electricity to heat the water up to operable temperatures. The system, which can provide enough water for a family of four, has been constructed and is waiting testing.
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Faculty mentor: Dr.
School:
Title: Effects of Music as a Distraction on Problem Solving
The relationship between music (used as a distractor task) and task difficulty on task performance was investigated. Participants were presented with a word search containing 27 boys’ names with either the names to be found in the search provided (easy conditions) or not provided (difficult conditions). Participants completed their respective word searches with hard rock, opera, or no music playing during the word search task. The number of boy’s names identified in the word search served as the dependent variable. The results failed to show a relationship between music and task difficulty.
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Faculty mentor: Mr. Kong Ho
School:
Title:
The
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Faculty mentor: Dr. Susan K. Putnam
School:
Title: Cortisol and Alpha Amylase Levels: Association with Self-Concept, Perceived Stress, and Performance of Players in an NCAA Division I Hockey Team
Athletes are faced with high degrees of stress during training and competition. Optimal performance demands appropriate levels of sympathetic nervous system stimulation, but excessive and prolonged sympathetic arousal has negative physiological and psychological consequences. A variety of factors can modulate this response. This study examined cortisol and alpha amylase levels (physiological measures of stress), self-concept and perceived stress, and the performance of players in an NCAA Division I Hockey Team over the course of a season. Results revealed a significant correlation between self-confidence and ranking of the opposing team. Players believed that their individual performance could significantly affect the outcome of the game when they played against weaker opponents. This correlation was not seen in games played against higher ranked team. Freshmen and seniors experienced higher levels of post-game cortisol levels after a victory then did sophomores and juniors. Surprisingly, winning and losing had no significant relationship with cortisol levels.
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Faculty mentors: Dr.
School:
Title: Bryophytes and Stream Quality: A Preliminary Study Investigating Effects on Salamander Populations
We investigated the role of
bryophyte cover and stream quality on the abundance of salamanders in and around
a stream near
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Faculty mentor: Dr.
School:
Title: Perception of Optical Illusions: Need for Cognition, Time, and Task Difficulty
The factors influencing one’s perception of optical illusions were investigated. Participants classified as either high/low in need for cognition were presented a slide show of 7 optical illusions with instructions indicating the task was either easy or hard, and having either 10s or 20s to generate 2 possible responses to each illusion. The total number of correct responses was recorded for each participant. The results failed to support a relationship among the three variables.
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